


The Law of Universal Gravitation

by askmalec



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, How Do I Tag, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Questionable Physics, Questioning, astronomy major
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-17
Updated: 2016-12-19
Packaged: 2018-08-31 13:59:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,828
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8581246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/askmalec/pseuds/askmalec
Summary: This whole ridiculous thing starts because Lance has a big, stupid crush on his Astro-3350 TA, and can’t shut his goddamn mouth. Lance is a second year astronomy major, and is very much straight, thank you very much. Any and all feelings he has for his arch-nemesis Keith can be labeled "unending and fiery loathing," even if Keith can work a mullet like nobodies business. Whatever, it totally doesn't matter. Much.





	1. Recitation weeks 1-2

**Author's Note:**

> Hi friends!   
> Welcome! The updates for this fic might be sporadic, considering this is my finals-procrastination project, but as soon as the semester ends, I will devote myself to writing.   
> Quick disclaimer: This fic will feature a questioning Lance, who comes from a deeply religious family and an inherently homophobic culture. While religious itself isn't the cause of this particular brand of homophobia, it does play a contributing role. I'll try and be as respectful as possible concerning these topics, but please, feel free to educate me, in a respectful way, if I've done something wrong. I don't want to offend anyone!   
> With that out of the way,   
> enjoy!

This whole ridiculous thing starts because Lance has a big, stupid crush on his Astro-3350 TA, and can’t shut his goddamn mouth.

The first day of the semester, Lance has recitation with his roommate and best friend Hunk, and they planning on acing the class. That was, until Lance walks into class.

Their TA, Takashi Shirogane, or “just Shiro,” was perhaps the hottest man Lance had ever seen, like in his entire life, which was saying something considering he wasn’t even really attracted to men (a total lie, but he wasn’t about to have a huge, gay panic in the middle of class). Shiro starts the class by introducing himself and giving them a pre-test.

“Don’t worry if you can’t answer something, this is just participation points. But, I do want everyone to take this seriously,” he explains, setting a timer. “Once this is done, you guys can head out, unless you have questions for me.”

Lance breezes through the test, which may have been an indicator that he’d failed it, but whatevs. He hangs out for a while until most people had turned in their test, because he has a question about universal gravitation. He also wanted to know if Shiro was single, but that’s beside the point.

He walks up to Shiro’s desk wearing his most confident smirk.

“Hi! I’m Lance,” he introduces himself, handing Shiro his test. Shiro raises is eyebrows, but takes the test. Lance’s smile falters a little.

“I, uh, had question about number seventeen, about universal gravitation? I just didn’t remember the concept, I guess,” he mumbles. Shiro’s expression clears and he smiles.

“Sure! Let me draw it out for you!” While Shiro explains the concept, students slowly turn in test and filter out of the room, all but this one kid, who skulks near the front of the room, arms crosses and sour-faced.

Every so often, Lance will interject a question, batting his eyelashes to watch the different shifts in Shiro’s expression. Each time he does, the kid behind them scoffs. After the fifth time, Lance has had enough.

“Okay, asshole, what’s your problem?” he asks, drawing himself up to his full height. The boy scoffs, and suddenly, Lance recognizes him.

“You!” he exclaims, Shiro momentarily forgotten. “Of course, it figures you’d end up in this class too, just to ruin my semester!”

“Am I supposed to know you?” Keith Kogane, bane of Lance’s existence, asks. Lance glares at him. 

“Uh, the name’s _Lance._ We’re rivals. You know, Keith and Lance, neck and neck,” he explains, mostly for Shiro’s benefit.

“I remember you,” Keith laughs. “You’re that kid who got a fifty on the first midterm last semester—“

“Shut up, asshole! I ended up second in the class!” Lance tells him, voice bordering on hysteria. God, he hates this kid, him and dumb mullet. Keith looks a little surprised.

“Yeah, I remember. Everyone was really surprised,” Keith finishes, giving Lance a little smile. Lance sort of wants to knock his teeth in.

“Fuck off, douche-canoe, I’m getting the highest grade this semester, just you watch!” he snarls. Keith just raises his eyebrows.

“How? You’re up here asking Shiro for basic physics help.” Before Lance can swing at Keith, Shiro steps in between them, frowning.

“Guys, you’re sophomores in college, not kindergarteners! Keith, don’t be an asshole, and Lance, calm down,” he instructs. Keith backs down immediately, and Lance follows. He feels like dying; he can’t believe Keith managed to goad him into a fight, in front of the hottest TA ever, on the first day. He prays for the ground to open up and swallow him whole. He mumbles an apology.

“It’s cool, but don’t let this happen again. As much as Keith can act like a dick, I can’t condone anyone knocking my little brother’s teeth in,” Shiro tells him, smiling easily. Lance’s head pops up so fast, it’s comical.

“Wait, what!? Brothers?” Keith scowls, stilling flushed.

“I’m adopted,” he mutters, grabbing his bag. “Are we getting lunch, or what, Shiro?”

“Sure, but let me finish the question,” Shiro answers kindly. He talks Lance through the finer points of calculating the mass of a planet using only its gravity. Once his question is answered, Lance gets his stuff and leaves, finding Hunk outside the door.

“What the hell happened in there? I heard yelling,” Hunk asks, scanning Lance for any injuries. Hunk’s known Lance long enough to know that when he starts running his mouth, Lance is bound to take a punch.

“You remember that asshole who got a fucking hundred on each test last semester, in Astro-2292? He’s in this class too, and get this, Shiro’s his brother! Like what kind of nepotism? I cannot believe,” Lance vents. Hunk nods in all the right spots, and let’s Lance fume all the way to their calculus class.

He’s pretty lucky to have Hunk as his best friend.

The rest of the day is pretty easy, and Hunk makes his special double chocolate chunk brownies back at their apartment, so Lance forgets the injustice and stress of the morning.

They’re lounging on the couch, waiting for their other best friend, Pidge, to come over so they can start their annual first day of school movie night.

Pidge Holt, or Katie to her parents, is a year younger than them, and the only other kid on their street, not counting her older-by-six-years brother, Matt. After spending their entire childhoods together, they’re pretty tight.

A couple minutes after Pidge promised to be there, there’s a banging on the door. Lance loses noes-goes and gets up to open the door.

“Hey, Pidgeon, what the hell took so long?” he asks, stepping aside to let her in. He’s rewarded with a withering glare.

“The directions you gave me to find this dump were shit, so I got a little lost. I had to call Matt to help me out,” she explains, shucking her shoes off. “Enough about me, I want to hear about this huge gay panic you had in the middle of recitation.”

Lance sputters at her, steadily turning red.

“You shut the fuck your face!” he shrieks, only a little incoherent. “I did not have a gay panic, I’m still straight! Keith’s not even good looking anyways!”

Hunk poorly hides a laugh behind a cough, but Pidge affords him no such luxury.

“I thought you had the hots for your TA, not that kid you hate,” she says casually, an evil glint in her eyes.

“Get out of my house, you little gremlin,” Lance hisses, flopping onto the couch.

“Okay fine, but then you and Hunk can just go without Netflix,” she sighs, moving towards the door. Lance grabs her wrist and yanks her back to the couch.

“I still hate you though, asshole,” he tells her. Pidge just laughs and types in her brother’s Netflix password.

The three of them snuggle up on the couch and argue about what movie to watch, until Lance points out he’s been dragged, like, fifty times that day, so he deserves to pick. Hunk concedes apologetically, and Pidge throws the remote at his head.

They settle on watching _Deep Impact_ for the millionth time, because it’s Lance’s favorite movie. Hunk gives him extra snuggles to make up for his best-friend-faux-pas. Pidge only makes fun of him for crying during the movie twice.

It’s a pretty nice ending to a really shit day, all in all.

~~

Next Tuesday, Lance has a fucking game plan for recitation. He’s done all the homework, and the book problems, and he has a list of sophisticated questions to ask Shiro. All he has to do is pretend that Keith doesn’t exist, and all will be fine.

Shiro, the beautiful bastard, has other plans.

The first half of recitation is fine; Lance gets to ask his questions and prove that he’s not slacking. The second half, however, is a total disaster.

“Okay, so this semester, Professor Altea is trying something a little different, so I’m putting you guys in groups of three to take a weekly quiz. Once I call your names, grab one quiz for the group and get started,” Shiro explains, and begins reading from his list of names.

“Lance McClain, Hoku Garrett, and Keith Kogane,” Shiro reads. Lance’s mouth falls open and he whips around to find Hunk, who’s already getting up to grab a quiz. Keith is already moving towards them, and Lance has, like, four seconds to find his chill before he starts screaming. He can’t do this for a fucking semester, he just can’t, or he’ll explode. Keith better not start anything, because Lance doesn’t have enough self-restraint to stop himself punch McMullet.

“I’m Keith,” he introduces himself, holding a hand out to Hunk for a hand shake.

“I’m Hoku, but you can just call me Hunk.” That’s it, Lance is dumping Hunk and finding a new best friend, one who won’t betray him by not automatically hating Lance’s sworn enemy.

“Let’s just get this over with,” he grumbles. After a brief squabble over who writes (Hunk), they get into it. The first few questions go well, but they hit a wall during question 6. He and Keith argue about how to do the problem, give up, and go to the next one. This cycle repeats itself until Lance is literally two seconds away from hurling himself at Keith, Hunk is chewing his finger nails, something he’s never done before, and Keith is red in the face, speaking through gritted teeth.

Shiro calls time, and they’re forced to turn in a half-finished quiz, full of scribbles and crossed out answers.

They manage to make it out of the door before they crack.

“You absolute asshole!” Lance steps into Keith’s space, rearing for a fight. Keith shoves him back, hard, and sends him stumbling into Hunk, who separates them immediately.  

“Stop! Guys, we have to work together, or we’re going to fail this class! Lance, there’s more than one way to solve a problem, and Keith, maybe back off a little and actually listen to Lance, he’s not an idiot.” Keith and Lance glower at each other, before Keith backs down first, heaving a huge sigh.

“Fine. You’re right,” he says tersely. Thankfully, before Lance can say anything to destroy the fragile peace forged between them, Shiro comes outside.

“Everything cool, guys?” he asks, raising an eyebrow at the trio. Hunk sighs.

“We were just discussing how to do problem twelve,” Hunk says, subtle stepping in between Keith and Lance. Shiro smiles a little sheepishly.

“Yeah, that one was kind of unfair. Some of the other TA’s and I were going to talk to Professor Altea about that. Once we figure it out, I’ll send you an email about it,” He says, running a hand through his hair. “C’mon Keith, shake a tail feature.”

Keith and Lance both snort at that, which must’ve been Shiro’s goal, because he smiles, pleased.

“See you around, guys.” With that, they go their separate ways. Hunk and Lance literally have to sprint to calc because they spent too much time dawdling outside the recitation room.

Later that night, Land and Hunk recreate problem twelve, because they both have the inability to let things like this go, and spend like, four hours figuring it out. Hunk’s so pleased, he even let’s Lance make celebratory margaritas in his prized blender.

Just as they’re dancing around the kitchen, more than a little buzzed, Lance’s phone dings, signaling a new email.

**Sender:** [kogane.1@voltron.edu](mailto:kogane.1@voltron.edu)

**Subject:** problem twelve

**Message:**

Hey.

I talked to my brother, and he said unofficially that we might get extra credit if we solve the problem. I worked it out and had him check it. He thinks I’m right, so I’m giving it to you too. Share it with Hunk because I couldn’t find his name on the class list.

Keith Kogane (from astro-3350 recitation)

_Attached: problem_12.pdf_

“Huh, guess he had the same idea,” Lance mutters, feeling weirdly sober. Hunk comes up behind him to read the email.

“Tha’s cool o’ him!” Hunk slurs. Hunk’s kind of a lightweight, which makes zero size considering his size, but drunk!Hunk is Lance’s fave, so it’s fine.

“I’m going check our work,” Lance tells him. “Want the rest of my drink?” Hunk winces, but tanks the thing anyways.

“Y’always do this, man, m’fuck as drunk,” he mumbles, before passing out on the couch. Lance scoffs. Amateur.

Turns out, Keith solved it just like they did, which means they’re totally getting extra credit. He pulls up a new message to reply to Keith.

**Sender:** [mcclain.34@voltron.edu](mailto:mcclain.34@voltron.edu)

**Subject:** pfolemm 12

**Message:**

YOOOOPPOOOO

We did teh sasme thing, fvck yeha. Were totalliy crusbing it, bitdh!

Hunsk ‘ s email is [garrett.26@voltron.edu](mailto:garrett.26@voltron.edu)

My nymbrty is 928-774-6425

Humk’s is 928-665-0081 ;))))

After the sending the message, Lance settles on the carpet in front of the TV and passes out, integrals dancing through his head.


	2. The second Wednesday of the semester

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance misplaces the bottle cap to his emotions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi friends!   
> So, I've done nothing all day except write, so I bring you the next installment to this story!   
> Enjoy my lack of self-control while it lasts, my dudes!   
> Warning: this chapters gets a bit emotional, be forewarned!   
> The meme king will make his triumphant return shortly.   
> But for now,   
> Enjoy!

Lance wakes up the next morning to his alarm blaring way, way, _way_ too loud. Thankfully, he can smell bacon, so the morning not entirely ruined.

“Hunk?” His voice is a weak rasp, and his mouth feels like something furry dies in there.

“Don’t worry, you have forty-five minutes to pull yourself together and get to class,” Hunk informs him, sounding not-at-all hungover, which is cosmically unfair. Still, like the trooper he is, he pulls himself off the floor and drags himself to the bathroom. After showering and blow drying his hair into something acceptable, he heads to the kitchen where Hunk has a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel ready to go.

“I seriously love you, man, like I think I would die without you,” Lance tells him. Hunk grins at him, poised to drag Lance a little. Before he can, Lance’s phone buzzes.

(313)-994-5637:  _Hey. It’s Keith._

What the fuck? How did Keith get his number? Lance stares at it for a minute before saving it, shrugging. Hey, he might need it, if he has a burning homework question and Shiro hasn’t answered his emails.

Lance: Yo, fam. Saved.

Keith:  _Cool_

Lance isn’t sure what to say, but it’s time to leave anyways, so he just leaves it unanswered. He and Hunk head their separate way, because Wednesday is the only day he doesn’t have all his classes with Hunk. Hunk has his independent study culinary course today, and Lance has his Spanish recitation.

He doesn’t pay attention at all, which isn’t shocking, but he does stare at his and Keith’s little text conversation all class. Arch-nemeses don’t text each other, but then again, arch-nemeses don’t do group work together, either.

Finally, he gets to go to calc and hang out with Hunk. Hunk usually saves him a seat, so Lance doesn’t really hurry over. Just he gets into the building, someone crashes into him.

“Woah, are you okay,” Lance asks immediately. The person is Keith. Keith Kogane, professional asshole, is sprawled on the floor, just staring at him.

“Dude, get up,” Lance tells him, after an uncomfortable few seconds of staring. Keith scrambles up, still staring at Lance with wide eyes.

“Are you in this class?” he asks, breathless. Lance nods, and heads inside. Keith follows, like the creep he is, staring at him with his weird purple-gray eyes.

“This is advanced calculus,” Keith tells him.

“Yeah, asshole, I know,” Lance says, getting annoyed now, scanning the room for Hunk. He finds him near the front, talking to a girl in the row ahead of his.

“But you have to test into this class!” Keith insists, still following him. Lance moves a little quicker, ignoring the statement.

Hunk has his backpack in the seat next to the one next to him. Lance plops down next to Hunk, and pulls his notebook out with a little more force than necessary.

“Hey! You can sit set next to Lance, just hand me my backpack,” Hunk says. It takes a moment for Lance to realize he’s talking to Keith, who’s just stand there like a moron.

“What? No way! You’re not sitting with us,” Lance hisses when Keith actually has the audacity to move Hunk’s backpack out of the way.

“Don’t mind Lance, he’s just cranky because he’s hungover,” Hunk says, smiling brightly. Keith gives him a weird little smile and sits down. Lance glares at Hunk, who gives him this infuriating little look back.

Lance doesn’t get the chance to respond, because Professor Sendak starts lecture, scrawling messily on the board with his coveted purple chalk.

Even though Lance makes an effort to focus during important classes, like this one, all he can focus on his Keith, writing in a purple pen. It’s a miniscule detail, but it’s all Lance can focus on. Does he color code his classes? Is purple his favorite color? Is he writing in this color just because Sendak writes in it?

By the time class is over, Lance’s notes are a mess. He has half the problems written down, and he’s pretty sure none of them are finished. He’s going to have brave Hunk’s handwriting to get the notes.

The three of them leave class together, considering they have astro lecture next. Keith and Hunk have apparently hit it off, because they talk all the way to class. Lance is uncharacteristically silent, focused on Keith.

Astro lecture goes better than calc, only because Lance doesn’t sit next to Keith. They leave this class together as well, and then Hunk does the unspeakable.

“Hey, so, me and Lance have, like, a solid break before our next class, so we usually get coffee and start the astro homework. Do you want to come with?”

Lance is _so_ dumping Hunk.

~~

The homework session doesn’t end in disaster, which is a complete and total shock. In fact, they get more work done than expected, because Keith manages to keep them on track. He ducks out early because he has a photography class, and Lance is a little sad to see him go.

“So,” Hunk starts, once Keith is gone, “Do you want to talk about that gay panic now?” Lance chokes on his coffee, sending it up and out of his nose.

“Dude! What the hell, man?” Lance busies himself with mopping coffee off the table and himself, ignoring the way his entire face burns.

“Come on, Lance! Every time you have a crush, I’m the first person you tell! I call best friend foul,” Hunk pouts, crossing his arms.

“I don’t have a crush on Keith fucking Kogane, okay! Just leave it,” Lance snarls, shoving his stuff into his bag. Jesus, he can’t be here right now, not when Hunk is looking at him like that, a mix of hurt and pity.

“It’s okay if you do, Lance, I promise! No one’s going to look at any differ—“

“Just stop! Why are you so obsessed with this? You know I’m straight, so what the fuck?” Lance is yelling now, and he can’t even bring himself to care. All that matters right now is that Hunk understands that he’s _not gay._

“Okay, okay, relax, you’re making a scene, sit down!” Hunk pleads quietly, but Lance isn’t ready to be placated right now. He turns sharply and leaves, face burning and throat closing up.

It’s not that he has anything against people that are gay, it’s just that none of this applies to himself. He likes girls. Exclusively. There’s no wiggle room on that.

He can’t even imagine what his father would say if he heard what Hunk had been saying.

There’s an evil little voice in the back of his mind that reminds him that if Shiro asked him bend over his desk and just take it, he would. It’s the same little voice that squeals whenever he see’s Elijah Woods, or Aaron Johnson, or Carter from his high school English class, or—

He hates it. He hates it so, so very much.

Life would be so easy if he didn’t have that little voice. He wouldn’t be terrified of disappointing his parents, for one. Or, what people from their church might say to his mother.

He ends up at home without thinking, but he knows he can’t go there, nor can he go to class, because if he so much as looks at Hunk, he’ll cry. He can’t believe he yelled at his best friend like that. He and Hunk have a pact, where they swore to protect each other. They made it in the third grade because Will Greene wouldn’t leave either of them alone, but the pact still stands. They protect each other, physically and emotionally, even from each other.

They’ve never broken the pact before.

In one fell swoop, Lance has destroyed the best relationship in his life, all because of that stupid little voice.

There are no words for how much he hates himself right now.

~~

Lance ends up at Matt Holt’s place, staring at a cup of tea. Matt’s been like a brother to him ever since the McClain family moved to Silver Lake, and Lance started hanging out with his little sister.

“Wanna tell me what happened now? ‘Cause Pidge’s been calling me non-stop asking for you. She and hunk are pretty worried,” Matt says, sliding a plate of cookies towards Lance.

“I blew up at Hunk, like I really laid into him. I don’t think he wants to talk,” Lance says, in a voice unlike his own.

“I highly doubt that. He’s texted me, like, twenty times, but I figured I’d better try and fix this before you dumb kids ruin it even more,” Matt tells him, giving a weak, little chuckle.

For a few moments, he and Matt just stare at each other, before Lance cracks, and ends up telling him the whole fucking story, sordid details and all. Matt just listens quietly, a pensive expression on his face.

Once Lance is done, he bursts into tears, and just cries for a few minutes. Matt doesn’t rush over and pull him into a hug, or panic, but just lets him get it all out. Finally, Lance quiets, feeling much lighter.

“You wanna know what I think?” Matt asks, munching on a cookie. Lance nods, and takes one himself.

“What?”

“I think you know how you feel, but are too scared to say anything, because right now, it all feels confusing and weird, and you grew up thinking it was wrong,” Matt says conversationally.

“What? Matt, but I’m not—“

“Shut up and let me finish. I’m not implying anything, I’m just saying that maybe you need to explore your options.”

Lance just stares at him, confused.

“I say this because I’ve been there,” Matt responds, answering his unvoiced question.

“Wait, what? You’re gay?!” Lance’s entire world is being turned around right, and Matt is just fucking sitting there, smirking at him.

“Oh yeah, totally. Queer as a three dollar bill,” Matt confirms, full out smiling now.

“You think this is funny?” Lance demands.

“No, but I think that one day, you’re going to look back and wonder what the hell all the fuss was for.” Lance just stares at Matt, no less confused.

“Explore you options! Apologize to Hunk! Clean the snot off your face! Those are my words of big brotherly wisdom,” Matt says, getting up and putting dishes in the sink. Lance sniffles, and goes to wash his face, which makes him feel much better.

“Dude, I never noticed, but your apartment is a total granny apartment,” Lance says once he’s back in the kitchen. Matt just smacks him with a towel, and it feels good to laugh.     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty!   
> Tell me what you thought, any comments, critiques, or rants about klance!   
> As always, come scream at me on tumblr @siriuslymerlin29   
> See you guys the next time I put off school work!


	3. Semester one, weeks 2-3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Matt Holt is a genius. And Pidge Holt needs to stop messing with the damn toaster.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Welcome back! Hopefully you'll like this latest installment of college shenanigans, so please enjoy!

Lance ends up spending the night, because he’s a total wimp and can’t bring himself to go see Hunk yet. Matt shoos him out of his apartment at the ass-crack of dawn, however, so Lance wanders around until he only has an hour before his first class.

Finally, he goes home, mustering up as much courage as he can. Hunk’s going to be disappointed as hell with him, but he’ll suck it up. After all, he does deserve a good yelling at. Lance walks into the apartment to find everything dark, and checks his watch again. Hunk should definitely be home, making breakfast, because class starts in T-minus 45 now. Still, Lance has to be presentable, so he rushes in the bathroom, showering and getting dressed. On his way out, he grabs a chocolate bar, wincing a little about what his mother might say about this.

Lance is early, though, so he hangs out by the door, waiting for the previous class to let out.

“Lance?” That’s Hunk’s voice, oh my god, it’s _Hunk—_

“Hey!” Lance throws his arms around his best friend, squeezing tight. Hunk returns the hug, so maybe he’s not too upset. Immediately, they start talking at once. 

“Dude about the other night—“ “Listen, man, I’m so fucking sorry—“

They laugh, cutting themselves off.

“Lance, I’m really sorry, okay? I know that’s a really personal issue, and it crossed lines for me to bring up. I won’t treat it like a joke, I promise, and if you ever want to talk, I right here for you buddy,” Hunk says, looking at him carefully.

“Forgiven and forgotten, as long as you forgive me, for causing a goddamn scene and yelling at you. Man, I’m so sorry about that, you don’t even know,” Lance replies. Hunk beams at him, and pulls him into a tight hug.

“Forgiven and forgotten,” he promises.

“Hey, where were you this morning? I stopped by the apartment and you were gone,” Lance asks. The doors open and tired looking students funnel out, muttering about the ‘most ridiculous lecture ever.’ Hunk and Lance find their seats and start pulling books out.

“Oh! Actually, Keith invited us to breakfast, but you weren’t there, so I just went. It was actually pretty cool, and we got more astro homework done. I can give it to you if you want,” Hunk tells him. Lance’s jaw drops.

“You went to breakfast with my arch-nemesis?!” he cries, enraged. Hunk’s going to drop him now, and become best friends with Keith and then they’ll move in together, and kick Lance out and then he’ll die alone, a friendless loser.

While Lance’s entire existence flashes before his eyes, The Mullet-Man himself wanders in and plops down next to him. Lance heaves out a groan that earns him a few looks.

“Don’t tell me you’re here to ruin this class too!” he whines, slumping in his seat. Keith frowns at him.

“How could _I_ ruin it? You’re already here,” he grumbles. Lance shoots him his beat glare, which, admittedly, isn’t as effective due to his posture.

“Whatever, loser, class is starting,” he snaps back. Hunk laughs quietly, which feels like a win.

Because Lance isn’t allowed to be at peace for more than twelve minutes at a time, he starts noticing Keith again. It’s little details, like the way his hand moves across his notebook, or the way he pauses to brush the hair out of his eyes. Matt’s words pop up in his head, and Lance shoves them right the fuck back down again, because no way in hell is he _exploring his options_ with motherfucking Keith sitting right next to him.

And then, because God is just a sadist who enjoys ruining Lance’s life in particular, he starts blushing just as soon as Keith turns to him to ask him a question.  

“Hey, did you get the last slide—dude, what’s wrong?” Keith’s staring at him with wide eyes, and now is really not the time to be notice his goddamn eyes, no matter how _pretty_ they are.

“Mind you own fucking business!” Lance hisses, slumping further into his seat. If the ground were to open up at this very second and swallow him whole, he’d be totally cool with that. Even Hunk’s giving him weird looks now.

_Let me die,_ Lance thinks, _Let me die right fucking now and never have to deal with anyone ever again._

Needless to say, he misses the next couple slides after that.

~~

The next few days include all sorts of hell-activities, which include, but are not limited to: a surprise individual quiz in astro recitation, being dragged to the gym by Hunk and Keith, noticing the way Keith’s back muscles ripple during said workout session, and Pidge somehow managing to ruin the toaster whilst trying to “maximize toasting efficiency.”

Lance is miserable, because anytime Keith does anything, a tiny Matt pops up in Lance’s head, and tells him to “explore his options.” Lance has half a mind to kill real Matt, just to see if the fake, figment-of-Lance’s-imagination Matt will die too. When Lance posed the question to Hunk, all hypothetical of course, he laughed for twenty minutes straight before sobering up and informing Lance that, no, killing real Matt doesn’t kill fake Matt.

Needless to say, he’s sorely in need of a fun weekend.

When Friday rolls around, Lance can barely focus on any class, not exactly a far cry from how he spends class normally. Hunk takes one look at him, sighs, and says that Lance can look at his notes if he cleans the bathroom this weekend. Lance agrees readily, because he actually enjoys cleaning. Lance blames his mother for that strange facet of his psyche.

When they get to astro, Keith’s already there, saving seats for them. Hunk, who’s a sadist in disguise, likes to make Lance sit next to Keith every time. Keith doesn’t mind it though, Lance thinks, because he hasn’t shanked Lance yet.

Today, Keith looks at them with an odd expression on his face.

“So, listen, my brother and I were talking—“

“Shit, we’re going to have a surprise quiz today? Again!?” Hunk interrupts.

 “What? No, that’s not—“

“A surprise midterm!” Lance interjects, loud enough to rouse the attention of several students nearby, who start frantically flipping through their notes.

“Shut up and let me talk,” Keith growls. Lance tries to convince his lecherous brain that it’s really unattractive. He’s failing pretty miserably.

“My brother and the other TA’s are throwing a party at the head TA for this class’s house, and he said I could come and bring you guys. It’s going to a bunch of grad students, but they’re all legal, so there’ll probably be booze, so it won’t be a total bore, but if you guys don’t want to go that’s—“

“Wait, can we bring someone?” Hunk cuts Keith off. Keith looks a little grateful, the rambling nerd, and nods.

“Okay, but just one other person,” he agrees.

“Awesome! We’ll bring our other best friend Pidge. She’s a total genius, you’ll love her!” Hunk whips out his phone, already typing a text to send to Pidge.

Finally, Lance has something to look forward to!

“Nicely done, man!” he tells Keith, clapping his shoulder. Of course, Lance being arguably the biggest idiot in the galaxy, completely misses the way Keith’s eyes light up in response to the compliment, or the way he touches his shoulder, reverent.

Either way, he’s completely unable to focus on the lecture.

~~

That night, Lance spends an hour picking out possible outfit ideas, and showing them to Hunk and Pidge. Hunk, bless him, is engaged, and helps Lance out best he can, despite being fashionable challenged. Pidge, who is actual Satan, throws pieces of trail mix at him until he picks something.

Keith’s meeting them here, and they’re going to walk down together. There’s a little part of Lance’s brain that insists that Keith’s here for _him,_ to _pick him up for a date._ Luckily, the idea is so far-fetched, Lance is able to shove it down.

Not tonight, brain. There will be no ruining of the evening.

Eventually, Keith shows up, ringing the doorbell incessantly. What a dick. Lance goes over to answer the door, insult locked and loaded. Unfortunately, it dies in his throat.

Keith look… he looks…

There are no words for this.

(There’s a small part of Lance’s brain that rejoices the confirmation that, yes, he actually is into guys.)

He looks _dangerous._

His hair hangs around his face, almost artfully tousled. His eyes are fierce looking, and his jaw is set, battle ready. He’s wearing an absurdly tight black tee, and a red leather jacket that makes Lance want to _cry._ And then, to drive the final nail into Lance’s coffin, Keith’s somehow managed to squeeze himself into the tightest skinny jeans known to man.

“I like your emo pants.” Lance had meant to say something suave and cool, but _that_ was all that came out. For the five millionth time that week, Lance wishes for a quick and sudden death.

Keith sputters a little, turning red. _God, how cute!_

“Fuck off, dickbag, let me in,” he snarls, pushing past Lance. Good, Lance can work with this.

“Wait, Keith, you’re missing something! I know, a little eyeliner! We can draw some satanic symbols and tear drops on your face if you want,” Lance teases, smartly backing out of Keith’s swinging range. “Play a little MCR and cry about how you weren’t popular in high school.”

“Boys, behave.”

“Can it, you bitches.”

Shiro comes out of nowhere with a reprimanding look the same time Pidge emerges from the kitchen, trail mix long gone. She regards Shiro and Keith with unreadable eyes.

“Sorry you have to deal with Lance. I’m Pidge,” she introduces herself, sticking a hand out. Shiro takes it with a smile.

“Oh, he’s not that bad. I’m Takashi, but you can just call me Shiro,” he says. Pidges eyes light up in the way Lance knows can only mean destruction and humiliation.

“Hunk!” Lance calls, before Pidge can tear Keith or Shiro to shreds. “Come on, man, everybody’s already here!”

“Sorry!” Hunk runs into the living room, cell phone in hand. “My phone’s dead and I couldn’t find the charger.”

“It’s cool, bro, just use mine,” Lance tells him. He’s pretty sure Pidge is slowly amassing all the chargers she can find, to turn them into some sort of robotic nightmare.

“Thanks, bro!”

“Can we get a move on, please?!” Pidge whines. Keith laughs quietly under his breath.

“I’m Keith,” he introduces himself. Pidge knocks him one on the shoulder, a kind gesture coming from her.

“I figured.” They make their way to the party like that, everyone making small talk. Pidge and Keith get along surprising well, and bond over an obscure documentary that even Hunk has no idea about. Pidge keeps sneaking subtle glances at Shiro and smirking, like she knows something no one else does. Lance is a little afraid for Shiro, but his honest-to-god fear of Pidge keeps him quiet.

When they get to the house, the party is in full swing. Shiro goes up to the door and knocks. Lance is honestly so ill-prepared to handle who opens the door.

This girl, if she can even be called that, is some sort of alien goddess, an ethereal forest queen. She looks like she’d fit right into middle earth with her silvery, waist length hair and gorgeously deep skin tone.

“Hey, Shiro! Are these your friends?” she asks. Shiro nods, and introduces all of them. Before he can get to Lance, the idiot in question surges forward, cocky grin plastered to his face.

“The name’s Lance,” he tells her, boxing her into the doorframe with one of his arms. The girl quirks one perfect eyebrow.

“I’m Allura, and I’m way out of your league.” With that, she breaks Lance’s stance easily, and even goes so far as to pin him, face first, against the door.

“Come on in, you guys!” She chirps, and doesn’t let Lance go until everyone’s inside. He hisses apologies until Allura lets him up, smiling wickedly. Lance stares at her, in awe.

“Can I just say, completely seriously and without any malice, that you’re, like, one of the coolest people I’ve ever met,” Lance says, feeling kind of star struck. He’s decided he’s not into her, considering his jaw may be broken, but he still wants to be her friend. Allura laughs, a pretty bell-like sound.

“Oh, I know,” she says, and flips her hair back. “Come on, drinks and snacks are in the kitchen.”

“Thanks,” he replies, rubbing the side of his face.

“So, how do you know Shiro?”

“Well,” Lance starts, pausing to think of a solid reason for Shiro to extend him an invitation to this party. “I’m one of his students, and I guess I’m sort of friends with his little brother.”

“Oh, yeah?” Allura’s eyes light up and Lance tries to focus on regulating his breathing. “Wait, does that mean you’re in Professor Altea’s class?”

“Yeah! He’s my favorite professor!” Lance answers fondly. Coran Altea is, without a doubt, the coolest professor in the university, maybe even in the country.

“Oh my god! You’re Lance McClain! I know you,” she tells him, shaking his shoulders a little.

“Wait, what?”

“Coran is my uncle! He talks about you all the time! He says, ‘For all his faults, I’ve never seen a student more enthused about astronomy,’” Allura explains, putting on a terrible little accent to imitate Coran. Lance feels incredibly touched.

“He really said that about me?” Lance asks. That’s it, Coran is the coolest professor in any galaxy, near or far. “Wait! What do you mean, despite my faults?”

Allura doesn’t answer, instead opting to hand him a beer. Before Lance can pester Allura further, someone comes up behind Lance, and wraps him in a hug.

“Heeeeyyyyyyy, buddy! Wha’re you doin’ here?” Matt Holt slurs, swaying a little.

“Hey Matt, do you want another drink?” Lance teases, smirking and offering his beer. Alas, Matt shakes his head, which sends him stumbling a little.

“Nah, man, I’m already kinda buuzzzzzzed,” he says, drawing out the ‘z’.

“Matt, would you like me to call you a cab?” Allura asks amidst poorly disguised giggles.

“No way, ‘lura! M’ere to party!” he crows, hanging off of Lances neck.

“Get off me, you goon!” Lance shakes him off best he can, but Matt’s a strong little bastard when he wants. Luckily, Shiro swoops in and manages to pry Matt off, holding him steady.

“Shirooooo! My man!” Matt cries, wrapping himself around Shiro like an anaconda. It’s hard to see under the low lights of the party, but Shiro goes pink.

“Hey, Matt,” he greets. “Let’s get you settled somewhere quiet, yeah?” Then, like the Disney prince he is, Shiro hefts Matt into his arms with a sigh, and takes him upstairs. Allura waits, like, .2 seconds before bursting into peals of laughter.

Pidge runs up to them, a mad look in her eyes.

“Have you guys seen my brother?” she demands. “Hi, I’m Pidge,” is said in the same forceful tone, directed at Allura.

“I’m Allura! You must Matt’s little sister! He talks about you a great deal, you know.” Pidge softens at that, but then gets immediately suspicious.

“What does he say about me?” she asks slowly, regarding Allura wearily. The older girl laughs.

“Only good things, I promise! He talks about how smart you are, mostly,” she explains, mixing a drink. She hands it to Pidge with a smile, one that the little green gremlin returns.

“Wait, how do Shiro and Matt know each other?” Lance asks, only half invested. Hunk’s talking to some cute girl in the corner, and Keith is nowhere to be found.

“Oh, we were all students together!” Allura explains. She regales them with funny stories about their undergrad years, but Lance barely pays attention, which is a real shame because it sounds like solid blackmail material.

Of fucking course, Lance’s brain is stuck on Keith. His imagination shifts into overdrive, imagining Keith with a hot girl, imaging him making out with the girl, imagining Keith locked in the passionate embrace of the girl, imagining what Keith looks like when he—

Lance isn’t entirely sure if he’s jealous of the girl or Keith.

(It’s the girl.)

~~

All in all, the party goes pretty well. Lance gets a chance to “explore his options” when a hot guy comes up to and starts talking about his ancient Star Wars tee. He gets the cute guys number, paired with a wink and a flirty smile, but he doubts he’ll ever use it. The guy, Ian, was nice enough, and he _was_ pretty attractive, but he doesn’t give Lance that little thrill he gets when he’s got a crush on someone. Either way, Lance is coming to terms with himself, so it’s fine.

The group all find each other after the party, Shiro carrying Matt fireman-style. They walk home together, all talking excitedly. Hunk busies himself with texting someone; Lance would bet money it’s the cute girl, but Hunk’s reluctant to share.

Somehow, he and Keith end up walking side by side.

“Did you have fun at the party?” Lance asks, a little stilted. Keith startles a little but recovers fast.

“Uh, yeah. I tried to find you, but you were busy…” Keith trails off, looking anywhere but Lance. He huffs a little, annoyed. Mullet-Man thinks he’s so entitled, too good to talk to Lance.

Wait. Hold up.

Keith was looking for him?????

_What?_  

“Well, I was there,” Lance informs him, cringing. Keith smirks and cuffs the back of Lance’s head.

“Yeah, dummy, I know,” he says, with a little laugh. Lance’s breath catches when he notices Keith’s eyes, all lit up with laughter. It’s a good look on him. They rib each other all the way home, but it’s friendly, almost fond. Lance goes out of his way to make Keith laugh, just so he can see those eyes again.

That night, after everyone’s gone and Lance is snuggled up in bed, he can’t thinking about the beautiful way Keith’s eyes light up when Lance makes him laugh.

Honestly, fuck Matt Holt and his annoyingly revealing advice.     

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty! Please let me know what you thought, comments, critiques, anything that comes to mind! I'll see you guys probably at the end of this week.   
> As always, come yell at me about klance on tumblr @siriuslymerlin29


	4. ch. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance is have a god damn cardiac malfunction. He can’t have Keith come into his home, smiling that cute little smile, and tossing his perfect hair around, he’ll implode. Then everyone will know about his dumb crush on Keith and all hell will break loose and Pidge will never let him forget it and—

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! So, long time no see, but midterms are over so I am free for three blissful weeks.   
> Alrighty, with out further ado, I bring you chapter 4!  
> Enjoy folks!

The thing about Lance is once he’s had a taste of something he likes, he’ll do anything to get another taste. He wonders if this makes him an addict, but mostly, it’s been good things he’s chasing. Once he earned his first A+ on a test, he’d worked so hard to get another, and another after that, basking in the glow of his parents’ pride. He ended up getting a scholarship to school, so Lance figures so long as he can channel his addict tendencies into productive things, he’s fine.

Productive things do not include making Keith laugh, but here he is, arguing about the existence of Mothman, taking it just seriously enough to keep Keith interested, but joking around enough to make him laugh.

Keith’s got this strange little laugh, like his vocal chords just don’t know what to do in this situation. It’s deep and throaty, and Lance figures if he’s getting a hard-on for some guy’s _laugh,_ he can firmly remove himself from the “straight category.”

“Lance, that doesn’t make any sense, you dumbass!” Keith laughs again, and Lance doesn’t even care that he’s been called a dumbass, he’ll change his goddamn name to “Dumbass” if he gets to hear this forever.

Woah.

That’s a pretty terrifying thought, so Lance shoves it away, and focuses on tearing Keith a new one.

“You’re one to talk, McMullet! You’re literally sitting here explaining the science behind a made up character! Have some respect, man,” Lance fires back, smirking at him. The tips of Keith’s ears turn pink, and Lance drinks up the new detail greedily.

“Whatever, asshole, he’s real, and there’s a shit ton of evidence backing that up,” Keith informs him. His mouth is doing this funny little thing, quivering a bit, like he’s trying to fight back a smile. His eyes are electric right now, and Lance just wants to drown in them, so he shoves his way into Keith’s personal space like the addict he is, grinning.

“Ah, yes, the doctored photos created by people almost as crazy as you. My mistake, forgive me. I see now that Mothman is in fact real, and that you are a superior being for believing in him,” Lance drawls, watching Keith’s eyes. Keith’s looking at him fiercely, silent. Lance can’t believe he’s actually won, that he’s actually forced Keith into silence.

“Ha!” he crows, and Keith blinks rapidly, disoriented. “I won! I knew it! Mothman isn’t real and you’re an insane person!”

Keith opens his mouth to respond, no doubt rudely, but before he can, Hunk waves a stack of papers at them.

“Not that this isn’t a stimulating and important conversation, but we have a midterm in less than 72 hours. We really need to study,” Hunk, ever the only sane person in the group, explains.

“Of course! Hunk is absolutely right! Keith, you dingbat, we have to study and here you are trying to argue Mothman into existence! You should feel ashamed!” Lance declares, sniffing snobbishly. Keith’s mouth falls open, incredulous, and his face flushes.

“Me?! I wasn’t the one—“

“There’s no use wasting anymore time,” Lance interrupts, shaking his notebook at Keith. “We have three whole units to work through!”

With that, they actually get to work, Keith grumbling under his breath about how Lance is troll. Lance slips in as many insults to Mothman and Keith as he can. He also manages to dodge most of Keith’s slaps and pinches, and only gets hit in the face once.

They end up getting through an entire unit, and then some, enough for Hunk to call it a night. Just as they’re leaving, Hunk has to go and do the unthinkable.

“Hey, listen, it’s movie night tonight, with me, Lance, and Pidge, if you wanted to come too,” Hunk offers. Lance can’t even tell who looks more surprised, him or Keith.

“Uh, okay. What movie is it?” he asks, blushing for some reason.

“It’s Pidge’s turn to pick, so it could be literally anything,” Hunk explains, a little apologetically. Keith only nods, seemingly out of words.

Meanwhile, Lance is have a god damn cardiac malfunction. He can’t have Keith come into his home, smiling that cute little smile, and tossing his perfect hair around, he’ll implode. Then everyone will know about his dumb crush on Keith and all hell will break loose and Pidge will never let him forget it and—

“…—ance? Yo, earth to Lance,” Hunk’s voice suddenly comes into sharp focus, and Lance notices that he’s waving a hand in front of his face. Lance swats it away.

“What? I’m fine,” he says defensively. Keith raises an eyebrow.

“Hunk wanted to know where you wanted to get food from? You know, for movie night?” The way Keith says “movie night” starts up a funny, fluttering feeling in his stomach that Lance has to shove away.

“Uh, how ‘bout Romero’s?” Lance offers. “Best pizza in town!” Keith snorts.

“What? No way, Romero’s sucks! It’s so artificial!” Keith protests. Lance’s jaw drops. How dare this bastard, albeit a beautiful bastard, pluck up the nerve to say _anything_ about Romero’s, which is a goddamn institution.

“You take that back right now, you tasteless heathen! How dare you?” Lance cries, reaching across Hunk to smack Keith’s arm. Keith shoves Lance away, scowling.

“Romero’s sucks, and you know it, asswipe. Benny’s pizza is the best place on campus, point blank,” Keith explains, haughty.

“Listen up, you pretentious walnut, Benny’s is a cheap copy of Romero’s, it pale imitation, a travesty to pizza everywhere, a testament—“ Lance hisses angrily, before he’s rudely cut off by Hunk.

“How about we do homemade pizza?” Hunk offers nervously. “We’ve already got most of the ingredients.”

Lance and Keith look at each other, sizing each other up, deciding whether to push the issue, before turning to Hunk and agreeing that, yes, homemade pizza sounds great.

~~

Keith shows up to the apartment early, and scowls at Lance when he opens the door. Okay, Lance is done; it doesn’t matter how pretty Keith is, he’s a giant bag full of dicks that Lance wants nothing to do with anymore.

But then Hunk wraps his free arm around Keith, eliciting a cute little smile, so that plan goes kaput.  

The guys hang around the kitchen, because no is technically allowed in when Hunk’s cooking. Lance has caused too many “accidental” explosions for Hunk to ever let him help ever. Fortunately, Hunk took one look at Keith, scowling and hiding behind his ridiculous mullet, and bans him too. Little victories.

Pidge, the Picker for tonight, is late, like always, because she got held up talking to one of her professors. While they wait, Lance and Keith have a paper football game going, getting more and more intense every time either of them scores. So far, Keith’s in the lead, but Lance is determined to catch up, focusing intensely on lining the little triangle of paper just right.

“God, would you just hurry up?” Keith whines, flicking his hair out of his hair. Offhandedly, Lance wonders what he might look like with his hair pushed back, and then manages to get distracted. He takes his time lining the shot up correctly again, ignoring Keith’s pathetic insults.

Unfortunately, Pidge chooses that exact moment to bang the door open, completely screwing up Lance’s shot. He misses, and Keith crows in victory, displaying his general jackassery for all to see.

“What’s up, fucks?” Pidge asks, nodding in their direction.

“You’re late,” Lance responds. “And you made me miss my shot!”

“Don’t blame you lack of ability on me, asshole,” Pidge tells him serenely. Keith laughs, and those two heathens bump fists.

“What do you have for us, Pidge?” Hunk asks, brushing flour off his sweatshirt. She smiles evilly, and waves the DVD box wildly. Everybody groans when they see the title.

“ _Legally Blonde_? Seriously?” Lance whines, crossing his arms. Pidge squints at him.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t love that movie, Lance, you and I have watched it six times together.” Pidge’s betrayal was, of course, inevitable, because she’s truly Satan reincarnate, but that doesn’t mean that Lance is ready for it.

He sputters wildly when Keith burst into laughter, and retaliates by shoving him roughly into the couch. Keith stumbles, and ends up falling over the back of the couch, still laughing all the while, like the douche-canoe he is.

“Oh, man, this explains so much,” Keith chortles. A spike of something awful runs through Lance.

“What is that supposed to mean?” he asks, deadly serious. Keith grins up at him, but his expression falters when he notices Lance’s.

“No, I just meant about your awful taste,” Keith explains, eyes wide. “Like how you like Romero’s.” Lance settles a little, but the feeling doesn’t wane, so he doesn’t grace Keith’s explanation with a response. Instead, he plops down next to Hunk, who’s just set the pizza trays on the coffee table, along with a few plates and napkins.

Keith keeps looking at him, expression changing every time Lance catches him. He can’t figure out, for the life of him, what Keith thinks, and he tries to tell himself it doesn’t matter. Whatever, it’s fine. Who cares what dumb Keith thinks, anyways? 

Lance focuses on the movie, and the pizza, which is excellent, as per Hunk’s standards. He and Pidge whisper all the best lines to each other and crack up every time. Lance breaks out his Elle Woods impersonation, and makes everyone laugh, including Keith, but Lance doesn’t care about that.

Once the movie’s over, they all help Hunk clean up, dutifully doing the chores he doles out. Hunk makes the mistake of telling Lance to wash dishes and Keith to dry them, because Lance tries his best to wash at the speed of sound and make rude comments about Keith’s ability.

Keith gives as good as he gets, though, and the two of them manage to get the dishes done without any major incidents. Of course, they take for-fucking-ever, because Keith starts yapping about how Lance is doing a shitty job of washing dishes, and dumps the dishes back in the sink.

Finally, they settle on the couch, all staring at the blank TV.

“So… now what?” Lance asks. Pidge looks at her watch, and sighs.

“I gotta go, guys, I promised my roommate I’d be back before midnight,” she says, heaving herself up. Keith gets up too.

“I gotta head out too, I promised Shiro I’d help him fix our fridge door,” Keith explains. “Come on, Pidge, I’ll walk you.” Lance raises his eyebrows, surprised.

Does Keith like Pidge? Doesn’t he know she’s just a kid? Doesn’t he know she’s asexual? Why is Lance so disappointed?

Whatever, he’s overreacting and being a dramatic shitball. He needs to pull himself together. He’s not losing anymore sleep over Keith, who is the literal worst™. Tomorrow, he’s going to take this sexuality exploration seriously.

To clarify, the sexuality thing and Keith are officially unrelated. Done-zo. Nada. Finito.

Hopefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Hopefully there will be a new update by next week, but bear with me if there isn't. I'm still in the mist of christmas shopping.  
> Please let me know what you thought, any comments or critiques, and I'll see you next time!

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty!   
> Please let me know what you thought, any critiques you may have, and considering this is unbeta'd, I bet there are plenty!   
> Come yell at me on tumblr @siriuslymerlin29


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